The challenges our state faces are without question immense.

Michigan needs a leader who will produce action and bold, creative initiatives to get Michigan working again.

We now know that either, Rick Snyder or Virg Bernero will be our next governor. These are the choices the people have made. It is now up to us to make a determination as to which one will be the leader Michigan needs and deserves.

Both candidates have a history and a "plan" to get Michigan working, on multiple planes again.

A voter educational service available to all is MiVote.org. MiVote.org is a non-partisan, educational website designed to facilitate knowledge about the candidates. It is the end product of collaboration among Detroit Public Television, the University of Michigan-Dearborn and The Center for Michigan. MiVote.org redefine voter guides and it’s the closest most voters will ever get to a one-on-one interaction with a candidate, without the political filter.

As the election revs up, let's hope it produces as much light as heat.

The airways, your snail mail and email box, along with your phone lines, will be filled with political literature/propaganda between now and the November election. Some of the material will be illuminating and perhaps some will even be useful. Here are some things to think about as the campaign unfolds:

• This is not an election where you should automatically stay in your historic political lane, voting a straight party ticket. Think. Which candidate, even if you NEVER have voted for "one of them" will represent your family's and the state’s interests?

• Pull back the cover on the political ads and promises to ask if it truly makes sense. As your momma once told you, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." Be sure to check out The Center for Michigan, (www.thecenterformichigan.net), "think and do tank." This organization is doing us a tremendous service by checking on the veracity of the candidates' ads @ www.michigantruthsquad.com. • Which of the two candidates will break out from the pointless, partisan paralysis that prevents bringing about required change to move our state forward? • Ask yourself: "Is the guy you are backing likely to look out for YOUR interests or the special interests? Who are the major political backers underwriting their campaign? It is appropriate to judge the candidates by the company they keep and whose money they take. • Discover if the candidate has ever broken with the special interests (and stood up for the peoples' interest) that have placed them in office. The left might include organized labor, trial lawyers, women's organizations and environmental groups. The right might include business organizations, insurance agencies, Right to Life, and the anti-government and anti-tax crowds. • How creative are the candidates? This election should be more than the sum total of a take-off on the old Miller Lite commercial: "No new taxes," "Protect the status quo." Are they willing to break with their party line, throwing off failed ideology and pursuing successful ideas to re-invent Michigan? • Demand the candidates complete this sentence: "At the end of my first term as governor, these are the specific results you will be able to see and measure ..." Then ask: "Specifically, what ONE result that you don't accomplish will you then pledge not to seek reelection over?" • Will the candidates build bridges with their ideological foes or simply dig moats? Will they lecture or listen and learn? • Education, talent and skills matter. The individual, community, region, state and nation that gets it system of education right will thrive in the 21st century. Those that don't will wither. With little or no new money to invest in education, what specific actions will the candidates take to implement the new 3 R's Restructure, Reform and Reinvent our public schools, community colleges and public universities? Are they willing to lead the consolidation efforts of school districts (and municipalities) and address runaway health and pension costs? • How has their experience, inside or outside of government, prepared them to lead? If they are currently serving in a political role, why should the voters not consider them part of the problem, rather than the solution? Touting their private non-government experience and telling us they plan to "run government as a business" evokes this question: "Which one?: Enron, AIG, Lehman Brothers, GM?" Michigan does not need a Governor to bankrupt the state. • Who will market Michigan to the world seeking ways to make the rise of the BRIC ( Brazil, Russia, India, China) countries not come at our demise? It is not enough to whine about unfair trade practices, currency manipulation, or shipping jobs overseas. What is the plan to win and create jobs in Michigan while these issues are being addressed? Blaming China is not a plan. What is the candidate’s plan to multiple and add jobs in Michigan? • What is their over-arching vision for Michigan? Where do they want to lead us? Do their dreams align with the hard work and sacrifice necessary to accomplish the task or are they snake oil salesmen selling false hope and make-believe? There truly is no such thing as a free lunch.

It will be up to the voters to size up each man's vision, plan, character and integrity and cast a vote on Nov. 2. We should demand a great deal from those who want the public's blessing to lead us not just out of the hole we have been in, but to lead us to greater heights and a brighter future.

As citizens we must pay attention, study the candidates, and at a bare minimum, vote on Nov. 2. How and if you vote will set in motion the direction our state will move in the future. The power to make change and progress a reality is truly in our hands.

Democracy is not a spectator sport. Your active involvement is needed.

We must elect a bold thoughtful, creative leader willing to unshackle themselves from the failed orthodoxy of the past, and demonstrate the courage to reach high.

Without bold, decisive leadership, Michigan will enter and wallow in its second lost decade.

Vote or Michigan is history! It is as simple as ABC.

Tom Watkins is a business and education consultant. He served as Michigan superintendent of schools, 2001-05. He can be reached at: tdwatkins@aol.com.